Private Isaac Ross
Isaac Ross was born on 12 March 1897 at Altaturk, Richhill, County Armagh, the third of eight children of blacksmith Robert Ross and his wife Maria (nee Griffith). By the time of the 1911 Census he was living with his parents and five siblings at Ballyworkan, Portadown, and working as a grocer's apprentice. They later lived at 2 Legmore Terrace in Portadown.
Ross enlisted in the North Irish Horse on 3 September 1914 (No.1123). He embarked for France with D Squadron on 1 May 1915.
A year later he was either wounded or fell ill. The Ballymena Weekly Telegraph of 8 July 1916 reported that:
Trooper L. Ross [sic], North Irish Horse, of Portadown, arrived in Dublin on Saturday evening from France in the hospital ship Salta and was admitted to Dr. Steevens hospital.
Soon after, Ross was transferred to the Royal Engineers (No.194353 – later No. WR/259280) with the rank of sapper, working in the railways division. It is not known whether he served overseas while he was in this role.
Ross was discharged in April 1919.
By 1921 he was living at Atkinson Avenue, Portadown, and working as a fireman on the railways. On 27 June that year he married dressmaker Ethel Porter at the Portadown Methodist Church.
At least one of Ross's brothers served in the war. William Ross, a regular soldier with the Royal Irish Fusiliers, was wounded during the retreat from Mons in August 1914 and saw action at Neuve Chapelle. He was killed in action on 15 September 1916.